Support from PADI Divers helped sharks and rays get the international protection they need and deserve. PADI Divers rallied the global dive community behind five species of sharks, two species of manta rays and one species of sawfish. Because of all your hard work and commitment to ocean conservation, all eight species were listed under The Convention On International Trade In Endangered Species (CITES) Appendices.

You armed Project AWARE representatives at CITES with more than 130,000 petition signatures from shark supporters around the globe, and while CITES was underway you helped bring shark conservation to the forefront of social media with numerous Facebook posts and top trending Twitter feeds.

Your support and commitment paid off. Proposals presented at CITES to protect sharks and rays not only succeeded but received more than the two-thirds majority vote needed to pass. As divers you are uniquely positioned for marine conservation efforts, and the success of protection proposals at CITES demonstrates how important you are. Thank you for your continued support and work to protect our ocean environments.

To read more about the protections achieved for sharks, manta rays and sawfish at CITES or to learn how you can get involved with Project AWARE visit projectaware.org/CITES.

Thank You PADI Divers for Saving Our Sharks! was last modified: March 19th, 2013 by Megan